


deep beneath the cover of another perfect wonder

by cataclysm_of_the_masses



Category: The Masked Singer (US TV)
Genre: Blizzards & Snowstorms, Children being children, Fluff, I don't make the rules the fandom does, M/M, yes duiker is the astroturtle child it works okay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-28
Updated: 2020-12-28
Packaged: 2021-03-11 04:01:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,441
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28388940
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cataclysm_of_the_masses/pseuds/cataclysm_of_the_masses
Summary: step from the road to the sea to the sky...
Relationships: Astronaut (The Masked Singer US)/Turtle (The Masked Singer US), Crocodile (The Masked Singer US)/Serpent (The Masked Singer US), Fox (The Masked Singer US)/Rabbit (The Masked Singer US)
Comments: 4
Kudos: 6





	deep beneath the cover of another perfect wonder

**Author's Note:**

  * For [DashieP](https://archiveofourown.org/users/DashieP/gifts).



> Merry belated Christmas! <3

"Aw, _fuck."_

Fox closes the curtains, then opens them again, as if it would change the fact that the blizzard had dumped the snow so high that it would be futile to try to leave. The policeman sighs, rocking forward on the balls of his feet.

Sure, getting locked inside your wintertime cabin at the top of a mountain with your husband due to a snowstorm is sort of romantic, he supposes. But getting locked inside said cabin with your husband; his two friends who, when combined with him, possess fewer braincells than they each have individually; and those friends' partners, with whom Fox often has book club meetings that are actually gossip hours to talk about said Three Stooges? That's just a recipe for disaster.

"Can you turn the heat up?" Fox spins on a heel - Serpent's waddled into the room, towels surrounding him to the point where he could be used as a punching dummy with little risk of injury. "Croc and I raided the bathroom during the night - we didn't want to disturb you..."

Ah, right. Fox mentally slaps himself - he should have remembered that they'd be having cold-blooded guests and adjusted the temperature accordingly. "Yeah, no problem," he replies, pacing over to the thermostat and cranking it up. Serpent, for his part, flops down on a couch, working his two main arms free from the towel roll and pulling his phone from it, scrolling idly.

"Did you hear? They said it'd take them a week at least to plow all the back roads. Power outages could last a month..."

Fox nods, taking the armchair opposite his friend. "Good thing I made sure to hook up the generator, just in case."

"I heard hook-ups?" Both turn to the doorway, where Crocodile leans with a casual grin, seeming effortless even in the at least eleven layers Fox counts. He, too, waddles over to the couch Serp's on, falling next to the fellow reptile and resting his head in the crook of the smaller's shoulder for warmth.

Serpent rolls his eyes. "Nobody's interested," he deadpans with a sigh, even as he averts his gaze from the magenta man. Croc laughs but lets the subject slide. They sit there for a while, allowing the house to warm up.

A series of bangs from the kitchen. "Oh, flarg - "

Fox stands, stretching his shoulders backwards. When had Astronaut - probably better not to question it. The small spaceman has a remarkable tendency to slip by people, which should be next to impossible given his golden outfit, but he somehow still manages. "You alright in there?"

"Huh?" The familiar golden helmet peeks out from around the corner. Astro clicks his visor up, grinning sheepishly. "I, uh, didn't know you all were up..." He raises a flour-covered glove to fidget with an attachment on his shoulder and Fox sucks in a breath, trying very hard not to go berserk about the mess. "Uh, I'll be making breakfast, but I uh, spilled the flour?"

The host marvels silently at how easily Astronaut could turn a statement of fact into an uncertain question, even as he paces over to a closet, unceremoniously hooking up a vacuum and rolling it to the space cadet, who, grateful, flicks it on, disappearing back into the kitchen. Fox returns to the parlor, spotting Serpent still reading news on his phone with Crocodile back to dozing on his shoulder. The medic looks up. "Will he be okay in there?"

He shrugs, falling back into the armchair as the sound and smell of sizzling bacon fills the air. "He's not Rabbit. House should remain in one piece."

Serp nods, clicking his phone's screen off and sliding it back into the towel roll he's in. "Okay." He looks up to the ceiling idly. Fox exhales, reaching for a book and flipping through the pages, not really reading it at all.

As if sensing the lull in the conversation, two loud people clatter their way downstairs, bursting the door to the parlor open. Turtle grins, loping off to the kitchen, while Rabbit throws himself onto the other end of the sofa the two bundled-up reptiles are sharing. "Yooo," he draws out, ears twitching up from where they'd flopped almost over his eyes.

"Hello there," Serpent hums, evidently trained in the ways of discerning when some incredibly stupid idea was coming and ignoring it.

"Foxy, okay, hear me out. How high's the snow?"

"At least three feet," the medic supplies helpfully.

Rabbit nods, scheming something up by the way his eyes roam the room, and he seems pleased with the information. "What if we climbed up to the roof and sledded off it?"

Yep. That's it. Fox and Serpent exchange a glance - the snake gestures with his eyes to Crocodile and shakes his head no. For his part, Fox closes the book he's toying with. "Do you _want_ to die?"

"Only on Sundays," Rabbit grins. "It's not like it'll kill us, anyways. You in or you out?"

The medic opens his mouth to speak, then evidently thinks better of it and simmers down. The cop sighs. "I'm not in, unless it's in a car taking your dumb ass to the hospital."

At that moment, Astronaut bounces in, somehow carrying six plates of bacon, eggs, and pancakes, and sets them all down on the table. Turtle's video-calling someone by how he chirps happily at his horizontal phone, positioning it on the table in front of the loveseat; as Astro sits next to him, the smaller waves to the screen, breaking out in a wide smile a few seconds later as a somewhat static-y and barely accented _"Hi Papa!"_ emanates. _"Daddy told me you were cooking for Uncle Fox, Uncle Rabbit, Uncle Croc and..."_ A pause. _"Uncle Slang?"_

"Serpent," the spaceman corrects with a soft tone. "Was Daddy spying on me in the kitchen again?"

Said Serpent jiggles the shoulder Crocodile's snoozing on lightly, rousing the pink reptile. He spots the breakfast and lunges forward to grab two plates. A whack on the back with one of Serp's back arms is enough for him to slide a plate over with a sheepish grin. The medic rolls his eyes, spinning his fork in his fingers, even as the rest of the sextet take their plates. _"Yeah,"_ the child's voice giggles. _"He says you're a-door-able when you're cooking."_

"Can you tell Daddy that next time, he should try to help me and not just laugh behind the counter?" Astro chuckles.

"Daddy's not good at cooking," Turtle replies seamlessly, bringing a hand to his chest. "He's good at eating, but not cooking."

_"Last time Daddy cooked, the house was almost in fire,"_ the child they're talking to helpfully supplies. _"So I don't think Daddy should help you, Papa. Not unless you want to be in fire too."_

Astronaut glances over to his taller husband with a well-meaning sigh. "Daddy could at least try to keep things in order..." he mutters. "How's everything with Uncle Rhino, Duiker?"

_"Uncle Rhino invited Aunt Night over for dinner. He says - "_ A pause. _"He says to tell you he heard the snow is very very high in your area. But there is no snow here."_

Astro smiles wider at the retelling. "Awww. Do you wish there were snow?"

_"A little bit,"_ Duiker admits. _"But not so much. Too much snow means I can't go outside and play in it."_

"Do you want us to bring some of our snow to you?" Turtle asks.

Astronaut rolls his eyes. "It'd melt in the car if we _could_ get out. Which reminds me - can you ask Uncle Rhino if it's okay for you to stay at his house until the snow clears? If not, I think Aunt Seahorse owes me a favor..."

_"Uncle Rhino says I can stay as long as I need to!"_

"Tell him he's a lifesaver for me, would you?" The spaceman makes a heart shape with his hands.

Turtle chirps again, grabbing his phone. "We'll see you as soon as the snow clears, okay?"

_"Okay! Bye, Daddy! Bye-bye, Papa!"_

"Bye!" The reptile hits end on the call, then turns to attack his portion, which is already getting cold. Astro laughs, leaning back.

And hey, maybe this wasn't so bad after all. Maybe Fox would find some board games and they'd play them and they _wouldn't fucking sled off the roof_ and it'd be okay.

Even as he stands to walks over to the closet, he spots Turtle, Rabbit, and Crocodile exchanging glances and knows it's not going to be that easy. And that's okay too.

As long as they're together, it's not so bad after all.


End file.
